How We Measure & Size items

We get items from everywhere and everywhen, with a thrilling but bewildering variety of designers and purposes. We have all sorts of folks of all genders shopping for the exact same kind of gear.

We try to get things measured, just to get them into a general kind of “size corral”.

PANTS : (Inches, at waist of pant)

We do up the pants and place them flat, measure them in inches across the beltline, and double that.

Fashion sizing is close but inaccurate, so always look for a larger inch size than your current pant size tag hints at.

Pants that belt low at your hips, and those that settle at a high waist will be very different inch measurements, so check your inches at a few different points to get your range.

CHAPS: (Inches, around the upper thigh)

We do up the chaps and place them flat, measure them in inches across the upper thigh, and double that.

This is because chaps are often about 10″ adjustable at the waist, and are meant to be cut to length, and are fairly unisex. On the other hand (leg, I mean), chaps DO need to fit exactly at the upper thigh. No other measurement or “med /xl” style sizing would be meaningful.

BOOTS: (convert to gender-neutral European sizes)

We size boots by European sizes, because the changes-by-sex-of-wearer North American sizing is confusing to read on a tag. (Womens 10.5, Men’s 9.25? Men’s 7, women’s 8.5? Makes your eyes cross, especially as everyone is pretty much looking for the same tough, functional boots.) Here’s the chart for converting!

JACKETS: (Inches around the chest)

We do up the jacket and place it flat, and measure in inches across the armpits, and double that to get a chest measurement.